[Federal Register: September 1, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 169)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 52059]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01se05-31]
[[Page 52059]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding
on a Petition To List the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout as Threatened or
Endangered
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; opening of public comment period on status
review.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
opening of a public comment period for a status review of the
Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri) in the
United States, which has been initiated pursuant to a recent Court
order requiring us to prepare a 12-month finding on a petition to list
the subspecies as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This action will allow all interested
parties an opportunity to provide information on the status of the
subspecies of fish.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 31, 2005.
ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments and
materials by any one of the following methods:
1. You may submit written comments and information by mail to
Yellowstone Cutthroat Comments, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 780
Creston Hatchery Road, Kalispell, Montana 59901-8239.
2. You may hand-deliver written comments and information to our
Creston Fish and Wildlife Center, at the above address, or fax your
comments (406) 758-6887.
3. You may send your comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to
fw6_yellowstonecut@fws.gov. For directions on how to submit electronic
filing of comments, by e-mail see the ``Public Comments Solicited''
section. In the event that our internet connection is not functional,
please submit your comments by the alternate methods mentioned above.
All comments and materials received will be available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at our
Kalispell Ecological Services Suboffice at the above address. Further
information also is available on the Internet at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/species/fish/yct/index.htm
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wade Fredenberg at the above address
(fax: (406) 758-6887; telephone: (406) 758-6872; e-mail:
wade_fredenberg@fws.gov).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On February 23, 2001, we published a Federal Register notice (66 FR
11244) announcing our 90-day finding on an August 14, 1998, petition to
list Yellowstone cutthroat trout as threatened or endangered under the
Act. We determined that the petition failed to present substantial
information indicating that listing this subspecies may be warranted.
During the period leading up to this finding, we received written
comments from the game and fish departments of the States of Idaho,
Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada, as well as from Yellowstone
National Park, several entities of the U.S. Forest Service, and the
Shoshone-Bannock tribes of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. In their
letters and attachments, those entities provided important information
relevant to the status of Yellowstone cutthroat trout. That
information, as well as information supporting the petition, was used
in the 90-day finding.
On January 20, 2004, the Center for Biological Diversity and others
filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of
Colorado, alleging that the Service had used the wrong procedures and
standards to assess the petition as part of the 90-day finding process.
On December 17, 2004, the Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and
ordered the Service to produce a status review and 12-month finding for
Yellowstone cutthroat trout. On February 14, 2005, the Court clarified
its order and attached a February 14, 2006, due date for the Service to
complete the review and finding.
Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires
that we make a 12-month finding whether a petitioned action is (a) not
warranted, (b) warranted, or (c) warranted but the immediate proposal
of a regulation is precluded by other pending proposals to determine
whether other species are threatened or endangered. This finding is
based on a status review that is normally initiated by a positive 90-
day finding. In this case, the status review is being initiated by
court order.
We are opening a 60-day comment period to allow all interested
parties an opportunity to provide information on the status of the
Yellowstone cutthroat trout. The Service will base its 12-month finding
on a review of the best scientific and commercial information
available, including all information received during the public comment
period.
Public Comments Solicited
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their home address, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law.
If you wish us to withhold your name or address, you must state this
request prominently at the beginning of your comments. However, we will
not consider anonymous comments. To the extent consistent with
applicable law, we will make all submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
Please submit electronic comments in an ASCII file and avoid the
use of any special characters or any form of encryption. Also, please
include ``Attn: (Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri)'' and your name and
return address in your e-mail message regarding the (Oncorhynchus
clarki bouvieri) status review. If you do not receive a confirmation
from the system that we have received your e-mail message, please
submit your comments in writing using one of the alternate methods
described above.
Author
The primary author of this document is Wade Fredenberg, Fisheries
Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Creston Fish and Wildlife
Center, Kalispell, Montana.
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: August 19, 2005.
Marshall Jones,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 05-17455 Filed 8-31-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P